Antiquities worth millions of dollars misplaced during Dr Samad's time: sources

ISLAMABAD: Initial investigations from Dr Abdul Samad, chairman of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Archaeology and Museums department has revealed that antiquities worth millions of dollars have either been misplaced by the department or are not according to the catalogue, ARY News reported.

Senior anchorperson Arshad Sharif while talking to ARY News informed that the arrested official, who remained in his position for over five years, was also being questioned for escalation of costs of different projects from Rs. 200mn to over Rs. 750mn.

According to Sharif, other ministers of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government can also come under the investigations as the circle expands in the investigations on the misuse of authority and misplaced antiquities.

Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had said that any illegal appointment of any pay-scale is corruption and cannot be overlooked as per law.

The anti-corruption watchdog said in a statement that the campaigners wanted to hinder the NAB’s efforts to bring culprits to justice.

“Dr Abdul Samad has not only made several illegal appointments but also involved in misappropriation of antiques, sculptures and other valuables of antiquity, which is being investigated by a team of highly qualified experts associated with the NAB”, read the NAB statement.